Skin Pigmentation – Albinism

Albinism is a skin pigmentation problem. People living with this condition often have limited or no skin pigmentation in several parts of their body and that includes their eyes, hair, and skin. They have inherited a condition in which their genes have been altered not to produce enough or no skin pigmentation producing hormones-melanin. albinism affects people of all colour and race and in the United States alone, it is believed that 1 out of every 17,000 individuals suffer from the problem. In most cases, people do not realize that they are suffering from albinism, most people who suffer from the condition have blue eyes though some may have some violet or reddish eye colours.

Vision problems is one of the commonest problems faced by people suffering from albinism. Most of them have low vision these vision problems cannot be corrected with the use of glasses or some other common treatments. The degree of vision problems is determined by the severity of the albinism , while some people who suffer from the conditions can drive cars , others will find it difficult to even read large texts of letters on a piece of paper. The abnormal development of the eye’s retinal as well as the irregular nerve connections between the eye and the brain result in the vision problems faced by people suffering from albinism. Vision problems detection is one of the ways of knowing whether an individual is suffering from albinism.

Skin problems are some other groups of problems faced by people suffering from albinism. Though , most people who suffer from albinism are fair in complexion, however , skin colour is not a major detecting factor for the disorder. People who suffer from albinism try as often as possible to protect their skin from the damaging effect of the sun{since melanin production is so minutes or not available, hence their skin can be easily damaged and discoloured by the effect of the sun}, by using sun protective clothings, wearing sunscreen lotions, and hats.

Ocular albinism is the commonest type of albinism today, the infections affect the hair, skin and eye at the same times, the skin and the hair may apply slightly lighter than those who are suffering from the infection within the family, however these people will only have a slight pigmentation. The ahir and skin often appear as skin colour while such people suffer from impaired vision of 20/200.